State lawmakers worked throughout the weekend to piece together a budget before Tuesday’s midnight deadline.

The result was a $29.1 billion spending plan that does not raise taxes, but increases spending over the current fiscal year by $723 million. However, another $200 million was being added to the end of the current fiscal year, making a total increase of $923 million.

The budget increases spending on public schools, pensions, healthcare and social services. It does not include revenue generated from liquor privatization, as proposed by the state House last week, or an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale.

The Republican-controlled legislature scrambled throughout a busy June to eliminate a $1.7 billion structural deficit from the budget plan initially proposed by Republican Gov. Tom Corbett in February.

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Some local lawmakers were more pleased with the budgeting process than others.

State Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester, said lawmakers travelled down a “long road” to arrive at the budget. He called the budget a reflection of the compromises necessary to get two legislative chambers and the governor to agree, and he praised budget increases to education and programs that assist people with disabilities.

“The budget represents a significant increase in funding for education — both pre-K and K-12 — and a new program to help students attend college,” Pileggi said. “There’s a heavy emphasis on funding for education. There’s an emphasis on helping people with disabilities. That’s where the emphasis is on the spending side, even in a very difficult economic climate.”

Democrats complained of being locked out of the budget negotiations, saying their revenue-generating ideas were passed over. They supported levying taxes on natural gas and smokeless tobacco, among other ideas.

“To not tax Marcellus Shale and to not tax the tobacco industry, I think, is wrong,” Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-159, of Chester, said. “We’re looking at a huge hole in our education funding. Our Medicare needs to be corrected. ... The governor is not dealing with those issues.”

Democrats also complained the budget used as much as $2 billion in one-time revenue generators, creating a greater problem for next year.

“It’s just like a giant hole in the middle of the road, and you cover it with a carpet,” Kirkland said, adding a car still will fall into the hole.

State Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, of Haverford, shared that criticism, saying the state Legislature failed to set up necessary revenue streams to match spending.

“Our spending is exceeding the reoccurring sources of revenue,” Vitali said. “We’re getting by this budget through one time fixes. We are kicking the can down the road as far as responsible tax policy goes.”

Vitali also was critical of $95 million being generated by the leasing of state parks and forests to gas drilling companies. That revenue was up from the $75 million included in Corbett’s original proposal. Vitali also disapproved of $122 million being taken from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund to pay for daily operations.

“In general, I think it’s a very disappointing budget from an environmental perspective,” Vitali said.

Rep. Nick Miccarelli, R-162, of Ridley Park, said the budget process has been frustrating, noting that even Republicans could not always agree.

“This budget is frustrating, and frankly, this entire session has been frustrating,” Miccarelli wrote in an email. “We were sent here to make things better, to work together in a spirit of bipartisanship and compromise, and we are mired in political infighting.”

The House passed legislation last year to privatize the state’s liquor stores, but the bill could not gain the necessary support in the Senate. Some Republicans also called for an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale, a policy Corbett has opposed.

About the Author

John Kopp is a reporter for the Delaware County Daily Times, who covers state and county politics. Follow him on Twitter @DT_JohnKopp Reach the author at jkopp@delcotimes.com
or follow John on Twitter: @DT_JohnKopp.